Fic: All the Way To Paris 13/29 (CSI, Nick/Greg, NC17)
A very happy birthday to mindyfromohio. Hope you're having a great day.
And while I'm here, I managed to write a little more fic in between making candy and having a close call with a cheesecake and a very unreliable oven. A little angst and indecision, Greg-style, was just what I needed to calm my baking-related nerves. Or something. At least it got Martin to shut up for awhile.
"Your folks are great," Nick said as he climbed into the passenger seat of Greg's car.
Greg wasn't surprised at how well Nick got along with his parents; he was the kind of guy who could put anyone at ease, and his parents had always liked all Greg's friends. So it didn't really bother him that Nick had spent the past two hours charming both his parents, it was just kind of...weird. The fact that Nick was actually in his parents' house was weird, and the fact that he looked so comfortable there was even weirder.
Nick had managed to steer the conversation away from what he did for a living as much as possible, and Greg knew that was for his benefit. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful or annoyed that Nick didn't think he could handle hearing about the crime lab, but he had to admit that it was sort of nice that Nick thought of it. It made for an enlightening dinner, anyway, and Greg had learned all sorts of things about Nick's family and life in Texas that he'd never heard before.
He knew he was supposed to say something about how much his parents had liked Nick, maybe make a joke about how they seemed to like him more than they liked Greg. There were things he was supposed to say, things he'd said before to other people he'd brought home to meet his parents. Only he hadn't brought Nick home, not really, and he was still trying to figure out what exactly Nick expected from him.
"Well, they are my parents," he said, forcing a smile as he started the car and pointed it toward the hotel where Nick was staying. And he could have killed his mother when she'd asked Nick to stay with them, but Nick had even had an answer for that, almost as though he'd thought about it before he showed up on Greg's doorstep. Maybe he had; he was trained to view situations from every possible angle, after all, and Greg was pretty sure the last thing Nick wanted to do was spend the night in the guest room right next to Nick's parents.
Checking into his hotel before he caught a cab to Greg's house was smart. Even smarter was the cab itself, because it meant he either had to call a cab to pick him up, or Greg had to give him a lift back to the hotel. There was no way his mother was going to let Nick take a cab after he'd just spent the entire evening charming her, and he had a feeling Nick had been betting on that.
Greg wasn't stupid. He knew where this was headed, and there was a part of him that really wanted to stop thinking and just go with it. But there was another part of him that knew Nick was going to want to talk eventually, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that. While they were just flirting over the phone every few days there was no reason to put a label on anything, but as soon as they made it real there was no turning back. He couldn't tell himself they were just friends anymore, and he couldn't tell himself that it was just a little harmless flirting.
It was bad enough when he found himself thinking about Nick's voice in the middle of the day, wondering when the other man would call again and thinking about all the things he could say to keep Nick on the phone. If they did this everything would change...everything except the fact that Nick was still going to get on a plane on Sunday and go back to Vegas and a life that didn't include Greg.
He'd talked himself into and back out of just telling Nick it wasn't going to work at least a dozen times by the time he finally pulled up in front of Nick's hotel, and when he pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine he turned to find the other man watching him. The drive hadn't been very long, but it was long enough that the silence between them felt heavy, and Greg knew Nick was waiting for him to say something. He was supposed to give some kind of signal, to let Nick know one way or the other if this was what he wanted.
The almost kiss in his bedroom should have been enough to let Nick know how he felt, and in a way Greg kind of wished they hadn't been interrupted, because then at least their first kiss would already be over. It would have been awkward and kind of weird considering they'd been standing in his parents' house at the time, but at least it would have been done and he would have spent the past couple hours thinking about the kiss instead of what had almost happened.
"Look," he said at the same moment that Nick said, "Greg," and when Nick laughed nervously Greg's stomach fluttered. For some reason it made him feel a little better to know Nick was nervous about this too, that he wasn't sure what was going to happen. If he'd gotten out of the car and started toward his room like he was expecting Greg to follow him and just start taking his clothes off it would have been a lot worse, and Greg flushed when he realized that was sort of what he'd been expecting. He knew Nick, though, knew what kind of guy he was, even if they'd never actually been in this situation before.
"Why'd it take you so long?" He didn't even know he'd been thinking the question until he heard himself say it, but once it was out there he didn't want to take it back.
Nick shrugged and granted him one of those sheepish smiles, the kind he usually reserved for getting himself out of trouble. "I guess I just figured there was plenty of time."
He thought about pointing out the three weeks after the explosion, those three weeks when Nick could have said something that might have made it easier for Greg to stay in Vegas even after he was fired. But Nick hadn't known Greg was going to get fired, and he hadn't known he was going to pack up and leave town as soon as he did. Maybe if Greg had said something...but it didn't matter now, because it was done and he couldn't undo it.
"I used to think you were totally clueless. It was kind of cute, the way you'd get so intense about your cases and make everything so personal, but you never really noticed what was going on around you. Like the way Sara panted after you when she first moved to Vegas. Maybe you were just too caught up in following Warrick around back then to notice."
"I noticed," Nick said. When Greg glanced over at him his palms were flat against his thighs, pressing hard as though he was trying not to touch anything he wasn't supposed to. The knowledge that Nick was trying not to touch him made his cock stir, and he had to struggle to focus on what Nick was saying. "I just wasn't interested. And I wasn't following Warrick around."
Greg laughed in spite of himself, some of the tension lifting as he caught Nick's embarrassed frown. "Right, so I imagined the way you used to try to one-up him all the time just to get his attention."
"I wasn't...we're always up for the same promotions," Nick said, letting out an exasperated sigh when Greg laughed again. "If I was trying to get anyone's attention it was Grissom's, and trust me, it didn't have anything to do with me wanting to sleep with him."
He laughed even harder at that, and when Nick grinned at him his heart skipped a beat. And maybe Nick wasn't going to own up to his crush on Warrick, but it didn't really matter now anyway. That was a long time ago, and now...now Nick wanted him, even if he'd figured it out too late. Greg's smile faded and he looked down at his hands where they still rested on the steering wheel, sending up a quick prayer of thanks that they were steady for the moment. "And now?"
"I still don't want to sleep with Grissom." Nick finally gave in to the urge to touch, one hand leaving his thigh to slide behind Greg's neck. It was warm and strong and familiar in a way that made Greg's chest ache, and he found himself leaning automatically into the fingers that stroked his skin just above his collar. "This isn't about Warrick or Grissom or Sara."
"That just leaves Catherine," he said, but when Nick winced he wished he'd kept his mouth shut. "Sorry."
Nick shook his head and pulled his hand away from Greg's neck, leaving his skin suddenly feeling cold. For a second panic gripped him as he pictured Nick telling him to forget it and getting out of the car, but instead the other man sighed and shifted in the passenger seat until he was facing Greg. "Listen, do you want to come in for awhile?"
This was the moment he'd been waiting for all night, the moment when he was supposed to say no and tell Nick it was too late. He wasn't supposed to nod and pull his keys out of the ignition, and he wasn't supposed to get out of the car and follow Nick into the hotel. He wasn't supposed to get on the elevator and watch as Nick pushed the button for his floor, his fingers starting to tremble a little when Nick glanced at him and smiled in that way that always, always made Greg's knees weak. By the time the elevator finally reached Nick's floor he wasn't sure he'd be able to walk down the hall to Nick's room, but a few seconds later he found himself being ushered into a nondescript hotel room, then Nick's hands were on his shoulders and he forgot all about what he wasn't supposed to be doing.
And while I'm here, I managed to write a little more fic in between making candy and having a close call with a cheesecake and a very unreliable oven. A little angst and indecision, Greg-style, was just what I needed to calm my baking-related nerves. Or something. At least it got Martin to shut up for awhile.
"Your folks are great," Nick said as he climbed into the passenger seat of Greg's car.
Greg wasn't surprised at how well Nick got along with his parents; he was the kind of guy who could put anyone at ease, and his parents had always liked all Greg's friends. So it didn't really bother him that Nick had spent the past two hours charming both his parents, it was just kind of...weird. The fact that Nick was actually in his parents' house was weird, and the fact that he looked so comfortable there was even weirder.
Nick had managed to steer the conversation away from what he did for a living as much as possible, and Greg knew that was for his benefit. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful or annoyed that Nick didn't think he could handle hearing about the crime lab, but he had to admit that it was sort of nice that Nick thought of it. It made for an enlightening dinner, anyway, and Greg had learned all sorts of things about Nick's family and life in Texas that he'd never heard before.
He knew he was supposed to say something about how much his parents had liked Nick, maybe make a joke about how they seemed to like him more than they liked Greg. There were things he was supposed to say, things he'd said before to other people he'd brought home to meet his parents. Only he hadn't brought Nick home, not really, and he was still trying to figure out what exactly Nick expected from him.
"Well, they are my parents," he said, forcing a smile as he started the car and pointed it toward the hotel where Nick was staying. And he could have killed his mother when she'd asked Nick to stay with them, but Nick had even had an answer for that, almost as though he'd thought about it before he showed up on Greg's doorstep. Maybe he had; he was trained to view situations from every possible angle, after all, and Greg was pretty sure the last thing Nick wanted to do was spend the night in the guest room right next to Nick's parents.
Checking into his hotel before he caught a cab to Greg's house was smart. Even smarter was the cab itself, because it meant he either had to call a cab to pick him up, or Greg had to give him a lift back to the hotel. There was no way his mother was going to let Nick take a cab after he'd just spent the entire evening charming her, and he had a feeling Nick had been betting on that.
Greg wasn't stupid. He knew where this was headed, and there was a part of him that really wanted to stop thinking and just go with it. But there was another part of him that knew Nick was going to want to talk eventually, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that. While they were just flirting over the phone every few days there was no reason to put a label on anything, but as soon as they made it real there was no turning back. He couldn't tell himself they were just friends anymore, and he couldn't tell himself that it was just a little harmless flirting.
It was bad enough when he found himself thinking about Nick's voice in the middle of the day, wondering when the other man would call again and thinking about all the things he could say to keep Nick on the phone. If they did this everything would change...everything except the fact that Nick was still going to get on a plane on Sunday and go back to Vegas and a life that didn't include Greg.
He'd talked himself into and back out of just telling Nick it wasn't going to work at least a dozen times by the time he finally pulled up in front of Nick's hotel, and when he pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine he turned to find the other man watching him. The drive hadn't been very long, but it was long enough that the silence between them felt heavy, and Greg knew Nick was waiting for him to say something. He was supposed to give some kind of signal, to let Nick know one way or the other if this was what he wanted.
The almost kiss in his bedroom should have been enough to let Nick know how he felt, and in a way Greg kind of wished they hadn't been interrupted, because then at least their first kiss would already be over. It would have been awkward and kind of weird considering they'd been standing in his parents' house at the time, but at least it would have been done and he would have spent the past couple hours thinking about the kiss instead of what had almost happened.
"Look," he said at the same moment that Nick said, "Greg," and when Nick laughed nervously Greg's stomach fluttered. For some reason it made him feel a little better to know Nick was nervous about this too, that he wasn't sure what was going to happen. If he'd gotten out of the car and started toward his room like he was expecting Greg to follow him and just start taking his clothes off it would have been a lot worse, and Greg flushed when he realized that was sort of what he'd been expecting. He knew Nick, though, knew what kind of guy he was, even if they'd never actually been in this situation before.
"Why'd it take you so long?" He didn't even know he'd been thinking the question until he heard himself say it, but once it was out there he didn't want to take it back.
Nick shrugged and granted him one of those sheepish smiles, the kind he usually reserved for getting himself out of trouble. "I guess I just figured there was plenty of time."
He thought about pointing out the three weeks after the explosion, those three weeks when Nick could have said something that might have made it easier for Greg to stay in Vegas even after he was fired. But Nick hadn't known Greg was going to get fired, and he hadn't known he was going to pack up and leave town as soon as he did. Maybe if Greg had said something...but it didn't matter now, because it was done and he couldn't undo it.
"I used to think you were totally clueless. It was kind of cute, the way you'd get so intense about your cases and make everything so personal, but you never really noticed what was going on around you. Like the way Sara panted after you when she first moved to Vegas. Maybe you were just too caught up in following Warrick around back then to notice."
"I noticed," Nick said. When Greg glanced over at him his palms were flat against his thighs, pressing hard as though he was trying not to touch anything he wasn't supposed to. The knowledge that Nick was trying not to touch him made his cock stir, and he had to struggle to focus on what Nick was saying. "I just wasn't interested. And I wasn't following Warrick around."
Greg laughed in spite of himself, some of the tension lifting as he caught Nick's embarrassed frown. "Right, so I imagined the way you used to try to one-up him all the time just to get his attention."
"I wasn't...we're always up for the same promotions," Nick said, letting out an exasperated sigh when Greg laughed again. "If I was trying to get anyone's attention it was Grissom's, and trust me, it didn't have anything to do with me wanting to sleep with him."
He laughed even harder at that, and when Nick grinned at him his heart skipped a beat. And maybe Nick wasn't going to own up to his crush on Warrick, but it didn't really matter now anyway. That was a long time ago, and now...now Nick wanted him, even if he'd figured it out too late. Greg's smile faded and he looked down at his hands where they still rested on the steering wheel, sending up a quick prayer of thanks that they were steady for the moment. "And now?"
"I still don't want to sleep with Grissom." Nick finally gave in to the urge to touch, one hand leaving his thigh to slide behind Greg's neck. It was warm and strong and familiar in a way that made Greg's chest ache, and he found himself leaning automatically into the fingers that stroked his skin just above his collar. "This isn't about Warrick or Grissom or Sara."
"That just leaves Catherine," he said, but when Nick winced he wished he'd kept his mouth shut. "Sorry."
Nick shook his head and pulled his hand away from Greg's neck, leaving his skin suddenly feeling cold. For a second panic gripped him as he pictured Nick telling him to forget it and getting out of the car, but instead the other man sighed and shifted in the passenger seat until he was facing Greg. "Listen, do you want to come in for awhile?"
This was the moment he'd been waiting for all night, the moment when he was supposed to say no and tell Nick it was too late. He wasn't supposed to nod and pull his keys out of the ignition, and he wasn't supposed to get out of the car and follow Nick into the hotel. He wasn't supposed to get on the elevator and watch as Nick pushed the button for his floor, his fingers starting to tremble a little when Nick glanced at him and smiled in that way that always, always made Greg's knees weak. By the time the elevator finally reached Nick's floor he wasn't sure he'd be able to walk down the hall to Nick's room, but a few seconds later he found himself being ushered into a nondescript hotel room, then Nick's hands were on his shoulders and he forgot all about what he wasn't supposed to be doing.